We Got a Good Look at Goodfriend Package (Photos)

In the land of Goodfriend Package, meat is king. On a crisp scroll of butcher paper, about as long as I can stretch my arms, there’s a manifesto of sorts written in black marker. It’s entitled “A Word or 2 About our Meat.” The first declaration is about pork belly, which is how most declarations should begin. The second is about pastrami, and the remaining two meat commandments cover their belief in eating local. It’s a crystal clear look into what you get at Goodfriend Package, a to-go breakfast, sandwich and beer spot just across the street from the Peavy Road flagship.

The meat manifesto at Goodfriend Package, adjacent to the ordering station

Nick Rallo

I’m there on a clear morning, at the corner of lunch and breakfast, and the place has that happy in-construction feel. Most of the staff, on this occasion, are friendly dudes with beards. Honestly, as one of the first customers in the joint, I’m feeling pretty darn beard naked. Long wooden tables run through the entirely open-concept room. Fry-baskets above the griddle are filled with fresh-looking bread. A soon-to-be-operational Cultivar Coffee bar is adjacent to the sandwich station, and an awe-inspiring, glass-encased wall of beer runs along the opposite end. I think the light from the beer wall hit my face like when Indiana Jones opened the Ark of the Covenant. Anyway, according to Eater, we’ll see over 600 craft beers fill up that glass wall of beer. Fine by me.

The breakfast and lunch menus are big and bold: Sausage or bacon biscuit sandwiches, corned beef and hash, pancake (literally singular), a road-house looking scrambler, and — wait for it — scrapple. Scrapple! Scrapple is, typically, a loaf of meat made from leftover pork parts. Good morning to you, scrapple! Goodfriend’s version is chopped and mixed with egg, and laid over toast. It’s salty and good, with a flavor like pâté. Their lunch menu is also hearty — pastrami and rye, roast beef, BLT and a grilled cheese are a few of the items.

While diving into my breakfast, I overhear a question from one of the Friendly Bearded Dudes, responding to a customer’s grilled cheese order: “Grilled cheese with white cheddar or Kraft?” One look at the menu (see below) confirms: There is, in fact, a Kraft-based grilled cheese. I also ordered a Reuben ($13) — big chunks of Beeman Ranch corned beef in house sauerkraut, “Million Island dressing” and Swiss on marble rye — to-go. Actually, everything’s to-go.

Wait! Don’t panic, veggie-sauruses: There is kale. Whew, right? Sides like kale and quinoa salad, pesto pasta salad, “Mom’s coleslaw” and tomato soup are there, if you look, like "Where’s Waldo" if Waldo was kale in a crowded sea of meat.

As it turns out, Goodfriend Package is already a place where you can eat breakfast with a wall of beer at your back and Led Zeppelin being carried on the air. Good signs from a restaurant that has good signs.